The Arab world is facing the prospect of severe water and food shortages unless
rapid and effective measures are taken to address the region’s water scarcity
dilemma, according to a report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED).

Even if all available fresh water resources in the region were utilized,
Arab countries on the whole would still find themselves below the water scarcity
level. Alarmingly, the 2010 report of the Arab Forum for Environment and
Development (AFED) has found that Arabs will face, as early as 2015, the
condition of severe water scarcity, at which the annual per capita share will be less
than 500 cubic meters. This is below one-tenth of the world’s average, currently
estimated at over 6,000 cubic meters. Water scarcity is a limitation to economic
development, food production, and human health and well being.

...Water supply sources in the Arab world, two-thirds of which originate outside
the region, are being stretched to their limits. Thirteen Arab countries are among
the world’s nineteen most water-scarce nations, and per capita water availability
in eight countries is already below 200 cubic meters, less than half the amount
designated as severe water scarcity. The figure drops to below 100 cubic meters
in six countries. By 2015, the only countries in the region which will still pass
the water scarcity test, at above 1,000 cubic meters per capita, will be Iraq and
Sudan – and even that assumes that water supplies from Turkey and Ethiopia will
continue to be sustained at their present levels. Without fundamental changes in
policies and practices, the situation will get worse, with drastic social, political
and economic ramifications.

...A core recommendation of this AFED report is that before investing large capital
into increasing supplies, less expensive investments that reduce water losses
and enhance efficiency should be implemented. This means a reorientation in
government’s role, from being focused exclusively on being a provider to that of
becoming an effective regulator and planner.

Arabs cannot afford to waste a single drop of water. Governments should urgently
implement sustainable water management policies which rationalize demand to
ensure more efficient use. This can be achieved by attaching an economic value
to water, measured by the value of the end product from each drop. Governments
should implement water efficiency measures, shift from irrigation by flooding
to more efficient irrigation systems including drip irrigation, introduce crop
varieties that are resilient to salinity and aridity, recycle and reuse wastewater, and
develop affordable technologies for water desalination. More research is needed
to address the challenges of food security and adaptation to climate change.

The main message of this report is threefold: First, the Arab world is already
living a water crisis that will only get worse with inaction. Second, the water
crisis, though serious and multi-dimensional, can be addressed through policy
and institutional reforms as well as education, research, and public awareness
campaigns. Third, averting a water crisis and suffering in the Arab world is only
possible if Arab heads of state and governments make a strategic political decision
to take up the recommendations for reforms seriously and urgently.
The state of water resources in the Arab world is precarious and worsening. It is
perhaps the most serious challenge facing the region in the coming decades, and
without concerted efforts at improving water management and institutions, the
situation will only deteriorate further

Comments

Very large crude oil ship could bring loads of fresh water on their return trips. Of course oil and fresh water would have to use separate compartments. Alternatively, use dedicated ships or desalt ocean water for general use and import drinking water (as they do now).

I remember a proposal "Sahara Forrest" that built canals from the Med to inland, below sea-level areas of the Sahara. Along the banks were evaporation systems that both cooled greenhouses and supplied desalinated water in abundance. They were also coupled with Desertec CSP installations. Such projects to the Dead Sea and the Quattari Depression in Egypt could also generate hydro power. Maybe it is time to revisit this concept.
http://www.saharaforestproject.com

The many available sea water de salinization methods allow an ininite amount of water to be brought into coastal towns from the sea. Towns should only be allowed on the sea coasts. Las Vegas has proved that a town can be built far from local water supplies. Food can be made from petroleum directly, or corn can be bought for petroleum instead of turning corn into fuel at far less or no efficiency. ..HG..

This is a warning: parts of the Arab world are already running short of natural gas for electricity and turning to crude oil, cutting into export capacity. Demand for desalinization will exacerbate this trend.

The conclusion is that the world should be trying to cut the need for petroleum as fast as possible.